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Prime ministers often have to work with prime ministerial aspirants, senior ministers who regard themselves as possible successors. But can these challengers seize the job when the prime ministers are reluctant to stand down? Using evidence from Canada, Britain and Australia, the article explores the conditions in which successions have taken place and the capacity of the prime ministerial aspirants to expedite the process. It identifies three alternative strategies that are shaped by the party rules in the different countries. The aspirants may flee, fight or fulminate. Which strategy will best improve their chances of winning the top job depends on the traditional or developing modes of leadership election that their parties have adopted. Some processes provide the means to assassinate the leader. Others have no opportunity to act; rivals can do nothing but wait, either in or outside parliament. The article finds that the broader the constituency that elects the leaders, the more secure those leaders are when their reputation declines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deals with the issue of academic study and research about federal power in Australia. Survey of the field of the core Australian executive; Comparisons with the state of research in Britain and Canada; Suggestions of what might be done and where the academics and practitioners might be able to collaborate.

The position of departmental secretaries has been under debate. There are claims they have been politicised; they have been placed on term appointments. This article examines the careers of departmental secretaries for the last 50 years. It illustrates the changes in their length of tenure, age of departure, mobility and qualifications. The recent profile shows the need for debate about the position and the future of departmental secretaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This report examines the conditions of appointment and termination of departmental secretaries in the APS and considers the impact of these conditions on: the secretaries themselves; the potential pool from which secretaries are drawn; and the likely continuing influence on the way in which the APS operates.The report is based on reviews of the literature on the appointments of departmental secretaries and of the legislative changes made in the last decades. It also draws from a series of interviews with 20 past and present secretaries. The interviews were conducted in October and December 1996, after a number of secretaries had been terminated by the new government but in most cases before the government paper on public service reform was released.The report is divided into two main sections: the first section analyses the changing conditions of service and tenure, the appointment and termination of secretaries and pay and conditions; the second section analyses the impact of the changes under three headings and explores the future implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a policy management review of commonwealth-state reform processes in Australia. Organizational arrangements and processes adopted in policy reforms involving both commonwealth and state/territory governments; Key elements of good policy development; Implementation and monitoring.

The article discusses the alleged politicization of the federal public service sector in Australia. It notes that partisan appointment, which occurs mostly in various federal positions, is one of the most common accusation cited by public authorities and educators. However, the study conducted by the British Royal Institute of Public Administration reveals that the charges cannot not be used as evidences to support claims. Rather, it maintains that continuity of federal experience is a notable trend which bears importance in the promotion of expertise.